Rabu, 24 Juli 2013

[Toy] Galaxy Force Starscream

Toy has posted a new item, 'Galaxy Force Starscream'

Aaah, Galaxy Force. Without a doubt this series is in my Top 3 of Transformers
lines. Incidentally, my top 3 consists of Generation 1, Animated and Galaxy
Force, but I cant put one over the other, so there is no Number 1Old Starscream
here is a bit of an odd one. The Japanese release got a single release in show
accurate colours, but despite being a major character in the show, the not
Japanese release only got released in a two-pack with Vector Prime. He was also
painted vastly different too. I dont count that abominable Supreme Starscream
which was a slightly modified version of this toy, but blown up to ridiculous
size. It was Horrid. My main reason for getting this Starscream was because he
appears to be based on the old Tetra-jet as the fandom refers to them as. Which
is the triangle jet modes they had on Cybertron in the original cartoon. It also
looks cool.

Robot mode is quite chunky. This Starscream is a powerful Starscream. Being in
Galaxy Force he has a Force Chip gimmick which is the reason why he has the
large wing bit hanging off his back. It isnt that bad to be honest and is a
decent trade off as it doesnt affect the toy too much.Sculpting is very good.
There are details all over his body and his head has enough details to look like
Starscreams head, including vents on the side and a nice scowl. I love the way
his mouth has been done. This isnt quite your whining, lurking Starscream, he is
a Starscream who can actually get things done. The wings on his shoulders can be
folded back if you dont like them, but I like them so leave them as is. The
inclusion of the yellow missile pod ( ?) things is a nice addition as well,
although I suspect they are there more to hide his head in vehicle mode rather
than a G1 homage.

Having a bit more of a look at his ambient sculpting, and you can see its in
places where you wouldnt think theyd put any. What I do like though is under the
Force Chip port he has a couple of holes which can have stands plugged into them
giving you some great options for various display set ups. Just make sure you
have a strong stand. The little one I used is too weak and so he was rather
wobbly.

Even the back of his head has lots of sexy sculpting. Mmmmmmm! Yummy!His legs
have the ability to be posed in a wide variety of positions as they are
relatively unhindered, but the same cant be said for his shoulders. He is also
slightly let down by tiny little pudgy arms that bend in the middle of the
fore-arm. There is a hinge joint that is used for transforming that can become a
pseudo elbow, but it looks very thin and cut off when you do bend with it.His
gun can also be mounted behind his back when in robot mode as well, as a
launcher though its not a very interesting weapon. It is also his main gun for
jet mode as well. One thing that I was disappointed with was the little guns on
either side of the cockpit/chest dont move. It would have been GREAT if they
could swivel up and down and wouldnt have taken that much effort. They certainly
LOOK like they want to move, but they area solid piece moulded with the chest.
This oversight was fixed with the supreme version, but that and an extra cannon
were the only changes.

Oh and I think he is the first Starscream to have some pointy shoes if you so
wish. He is a Voyager size and if I remember correctly, Cybertron/Galaxy Force
was the line that brought in the change to this size classing. I do think that
Voyagers have most certainly shrunk since then.

When you plug in his Force Chip, extra doodads happen. Luckily they are pretty
good on Starscream and dont detract from they toys design much and they look
great.FORCE CHIP, IGNITION!PLUG!KACHING

Starscream gets these incredibly cool blades that flip out from his wings bits.
They are nicely sculpted, look very cool, but would be tricky to use in real
life I think. Both blades slip out at the same time. There are no noise chips,
which is a relief as I am sure a speaker and battery pack would have ruined the
figure.

And now the cool action available to his legs comes in handy!

Stick him on a stand and see how we go hey? You can see how some elbow blades
might be a bit hard to wield.

The swords work with the vehicle mode as well. Nifty. Nothing quite like a plane
with swords hey? So speaking of planes with swords, lets have a look at the
vehicle mode.Transformation is fun, easy and quick. I think Galaxy Force got the
balance right between complexity and enjoyment. The hardest part for me is
getting the knees past the arms, they feel like they need to click out just a
tiny tiny bit more.

Whooosh! I love the look of this jet mode. Even after the snazzily designed
War/Fall of Cybertron Starscream I still prefer the look of this dude. My only
real complaint would have to be the visible head syndrome with it sticking right
up there a shame really, but I guess it does kind of flow into the Force Chip
port area in a way. Buut, not really.
Once again sculpting is lovely. Oddly for a cybertronian mode he has a cockpit
with a bit of translucent plastic.

Hm, I guess with the vents on the head, they kind of hide it a little bit.

Lovely. You can split the tail wing for an X-fighter style if you like as well.
In jet mode the Force Chip doesnt detract from the mode at all.

I love this toy. Its a great Transformer, good paintwork, easy to transform,
neat gimmick that doesnt ruin the toy and actually adds. I have a friend who is
always asking me if I sell it, to let him know first. I think I am going to be
sorry to say, I dont think Ill ever get rid of this one. Its just too nice.